Bar Rescue - Desi Romano's Sports Bar & Grill Update

On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Chalmette, LA to try to rescue Desi Romano's Sports Bar & Grill.  The owner Desi recently had a stroke and his absence from the bar caused the bar to go downhill.  Desi is now back at the bar, but he isn't the same and has allowed bartenders to keep open tabs.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Jon Taffer decided to keep the name of Desi Romano's Sports Bar & Grill. Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Desi Romano's Sports Bar & Grill since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (All reviews are post-Bar Rescue):

Positive Reviews:

• "First time here even though we are locals. Weeknight dinner. Service was pretty good though could have been a tad bit more attentive. Place is a dart and pool bar, donut was smoked. Food was very good and fairly priced. Will definitely go again."
• "Love going to Desi's! Whether it be for lunch, dinner, or for a social night with the girls. Great food and drinks. Service is always prompt and professional. The best shrimp bisque! Portions are large. They serve appetizers, burgers (any way you can imagine or create your own) poboys, salads, wings, soups, pizzas, steak, a large variety. There are specials on certain nights. Lunch can be busy but there are plenty of tables or bar space. Also, they do call-ins. Worth a stop in if only for a cocktail!"
• "Fair prices, big portions. Very friendly staff"
• "Awesome service and food"
• "Burgers are AMAZING"

Negative Reviews:

• "Did enjoy the specialty hamburgers they have until this last time. I was with a group of coworkers, got finished with the meal then found a roach at the bottom of my tea glass after I drank at least two servings of it. Told the staff and they totally shrugged it off saying it's no biggie. We will not be back!!!!"
• "I enjoy Desi, but the food needs to be reinvented. I am not sure if they take the pride of people coming back, but can't be if you get me 3 sliced cucumbers and 3 cherry tomatoes on a bed of lettuce."
• "Burgers are decent, however, the smoke is overwhelming. And i'm not just talking about a little smoke, but billowing, reeking, asthma inducing thick smoke. I strongly suggest ordering takeout because the burgers are worth it, if you can handle a few moments inside. For me, it isn't worth the severe asthma attack which followed. If they went non-smoking I would give the burgers a 4!"

Other News and Links:

• The Bar Rescue makeover happened in September/October 2016.
• Here are two preview videos of the episode from the Spike TV website - Video 1, Video 2.
• Here is the Desi Romano's Facebook Page and here is a copy of their menu.
• Here are the Facebook Pages of Desi (Owner), Lindsay (bartender/Desi's daughter), and Bethany 
• Lindsay commented on the Bar Rescue preview saying when Jon Taffer did recon, it was the first time Desi drank since his stroke and he didn't remember much.
• Another person commented on that Facebook post saying, "I just don't think this is funny. He wasn't even himself yet at this time. I mean we almost lost him a few months before. Just don't think this was worth it. It's fake tv! And what's worse is the bar was doing just fine."
• Lindsay Romano posted after the makeover, "Sooooo now that it is finally all over with I can say......#BarRescue was quite an up and down (or down and up) very crazy experience! (To say the least!)  Most of our #DESIS crew can say they learned something from this event and will completely turn this into a POSITIVE experience! Hopefully we can use #JonTaffers start of a great foundation and make the absolute BEST of it! & Please make sure to go and LIKE our “Desi Romano's Sports Bar and Grill” FaceBook page! #TheFutureIsInOurHands #ComeCheckOutTheNewAndImproved DesiRomanosSportsBarAndGrill"
• Desi Romano's had positive reviews before the makeover and has a 4 out of 5 star rating on Yelp.  Desi's also has a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Tripadvisor and 4.4 out of 5 on Google.

Conclusion:

Jon Taffer decided not to change the name of Desi Romano's Sports Bar & Grill and the reviews since the makeover are mixed.  Desi Romano's had positive reviews for the bar on all review sites before Bar Rescue came, so perhaps they weren't struggling too much.  Also people have commented that the bar was doing just fine before Bar Rescue came for the makeover.

*To see how all of the bars from Bar Rescue are doing, go to the Bar Rescue Updates page, and also Like us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter to stay up to date with all things involving Bar Rescue.